Language/Sinhala/Grammar/Adjectives

Sinhala Grammar - Adjectives

Hi Sinhala learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about adjectives in Sinhala grammar. Adjectives are words that modify or describe a noun or pronoun. They provide more information about the noun by indicating its size, shape, color, age, or other qualities. Adjectives are an essential part of any language, and learning them will help you to express yourself effectively in Sinhala.

Basic Adjectives

In Sinhala, adjectives placed after the noun. Here are some examples of basic adjectives in Sinhala:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
මැණිකි	"maeni-ki"	Small
පොඩ්ඩයි	"pod-dayi"	Big
ලොකු	"loku"	Large
කොහොමද	"kohomada"	How

These adjectives are quite simple to learn and use in context. Let's try a dialogue to see them in action:

• Person 1: මම මැණිකියකි. (I am small.)
• Person 2: මම පොඩ්ඩයියට අත්වැල ශීර්ෂයි. (I have big muscles.)

Adjective Forming Rules

Unlike many other languages, Sinhala does not have many rules for forming adjectives. However, you can use several suffixes to modify nouns and create new adjectives.

අවුට් පැහැ

One of the most useful suffixes in forming adjectives in Sinhala is -වුට් පැහැ (-vut pe). This suffix means "related to" and it is added to a noun to indicate that something is related to that noun. For example:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
සුදුසුමට වුට් පැහැ ඔබගේ මව් බිබ්ර් දුන් සැමරිකව ගොස් පහසු වේ.	"sudu-sumata vut-pe oba-ga mav bib-ru dan semarikva gos pathsu vae"	Your grandpa's jeep is quite fast compared to other red jeeps.
ඔබගේ යන්ත්‍රේන වැටුප මුහුදු වුට් පැහැ පොකුණු පොත් වල ලිපියක්.	"oba-ga yantren venatupa muhudu vut-pe poku-nu pota-vala lipiya"	There is a book on the table that has a silver cover.

Here, we use the suffix -වුට් පැහැ to indicate that the jeep belongs to the grandpa, and the book has a silver cover. That helps to provide more context and make the sentences more descriptive.

මාගේ ජනතාවක්

Another suffix we can use to form adjectives is -මාගේ ජනතාවක් (-maage janthak). This suffix means "in my opinion" in Sinhala, and it is used to express a personal view or opinion. Here are some examples:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
මම මාව මැද ඇති බ්‍රෝකර් මාගේ ජනතාවක් නම් කමෙක්ද?	"mama maawa maedi ethi broth kal-maage janthak nam kamekda?"	In my opinion, is broccoli healthy?
මම මාව පැහැදිලි අය ගොඩක් ඉන්නවා.	"mama maawa pehaadi-li aya godaak innava"	According to me, that guy is a bit strange.

Here, we use -මාගේ ජනතාවක් to express a personal view or opinion, which helps to add depth and character to the sentences.

කොටස් පදයක්

The third and final suffix you can use to form adjectives is -කොටස් පදයක් (-kotsa padeyak). This suffix means "characteristic of" and it is used to describe the characteristics of an object. Here are some examples:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
ඔබේ යම් පැහැදිලි අලුත් පිහිටියේදී ඇති පැතිකඩ කොටස් පදයක් කරමින් එකට මාරා ගෙන යනවා.	"oba-ge yam-pedaadili aluth pihtiyyedi ethi apita-kota padeyak karamein ekakata maara gena yannava"	You should apply the same principles your favorite leader follows.
පිපිරින් පැලවූ පුතාට ටික කෝටු පද ඇතින් කාරයා ඔබට දායක වනවා.	"pipirin pelavu putha-thik kotu pade ethinn karaya obata dayaka vanawa"	A young boy who has a stubborn character may be challenging for you.

Here, we use -කොටස් පදයක් to highlight the characteristics of an object and add more information.

Conclusion

Adjectives are a critical part of Sinhala grammar, and mastering them is an essential step towards fluency. In this lesson, we have learned about the basic adjectives in Sinhala, as well as the rules for forming new adjectives using suffixes. Remember to use adjectives wisely and sparingly to avoid repeating yourself and to always provide more context and depth to your sentences.

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